Porous sheet evaporator type humidifier for hot-air furnaces and mounting means therefor



June 12, 1951 J. WOOLLEY 2,557,042

POROUS SHEET EVAPORATOR TYPE HUMIDIFIER FOP. HOT AIR FURNACES AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 4, 1946 3 Sheet -s June 12, w WOOLLEY POROUS SHEET EVAPORATOR TYPE HUMIDIFIER FOR HOT AIR FURNACES AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 4, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 M lzlgiEN TOR.

u 1951 w J. WOOLLEY POROUS SHEET EVAPORATOR TYPE HUMIDIFIER FOP. HOT AIR FURNACES AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR 3 She ets-Sneet Filed March 4, 1946 \lll |l. llllll.

llllllllllllllllllr v INVENTOR.

zzf-

Patented June 12 1 951 UNITED STATES PAT ENT OFFICE POROUS SHEET EVAPORATOR TYPE MIDIFIER FOB HOT-AIR FURNACES AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR William J. iWoolley, Chicago, 111.

Application 'March 4, 1946, Serial No. 651,721

20 Claims.

, 1 Thepresent'invention relates to a humidifier. More particularly the 'present invention relates to ahumidifier unit including an evaporator por-,

tion and a storage portion'designed for removable assembly with ahot air furnace or the like.

Theimportance ofadding moisture'to the hot air :generated by the conventional hot air furnace .has long been recognized. Numerous attempts have been made to supply this moisture but in general no humidifier unit which could be easily assembled with a conventional hotair furnace or a hotair furnace of a similar type has been available.

It is one of the objects of the present invention therefore to provide a humidifier unit which can .be easily assembled with a conventional'hot air furnace or the like.

Asecond object of the present invention is to provide ahumidifier lunit having an evaporator portion .extendingninto the plenum chamber of a conventional hot. air furnace and a storage portion for supplying water to the'evaporator portion which extendsirom the evaporator portion and outside of the plenum chamber.

A third object of the present invention is to provide in a humidifier having a watersupplying portion disposable exteriorly and anevaporator portion disposable interiorly ofafurnace, adjustable means for so mounting the humidifier'on either a vertical or .sloping wall of the furnace or plenum as to insure proper positioning of the humidifier regardless offitheflparti'cular angular disposition'of the supporting wall.

A fourth object of the invention is the provision of such means for adjustably but rigidly mounting the humidifier which also is operable to enable ready removal of the humidifierfrom the furnace to facilitate access tothe evaporator portion thereof normally-disposed interiorly of the furnace without necessitating removal of any screws, bolts, orthe like.

A fifth object of the present invention is to provide an evaporator unit including an evaporator portion extending into the plenumchamber of a hot air furnace-and a storage portion without the chamber, with a vertical plate adapted to be receivedin asuita-bleframe and easily removed therefrom, saidframe being mountable on a verticalor sloping portion of "the furnace wall.

A- sixth object of the present invention ist'o provide'a novel adaptor means s'o'tha-t a vertical mounting plate for 1 a humid-ifier may be received in: the adaptor means and the humidifier unit extended through the' adaptor means and a slanting wall of'the'p'lenum chamber of a'hot air "furnace.

A seventh object of the present invention is to provide in a storage chamber for a humidifier unitwa novel 'valve structure including a valve suspended over the. storage chamber and having an outlet directed towardsanopening in the upper"'wall of the storage chamber so that the storage chamber may be supplied with waterxalthough siphoning of water from the storage brous material of which the inner sheets-possess .ahigher capillary attraction for water and a lowerresistance to heat.-

- A ninth object of the present invention is to .provide a novel evaporatorunit for a humidifier comprising a plurality of sheets having trans verse corrugations 'thereinand assembled 'so-that the-corrugations inone sheet are Oifsetlongitudinally of the'sheet'from the corrugation's'of the next adjacent sheet so as to produce a plurality of channels transversely of the sheets.

A tenth object of the present invention is to provide in ahumidifier, an evaporator structure comprising a plurality of sheets, spring means to bind the She'etstogetherat three of their periph- 'eral edges, said spring means extending downwardly :into' a water container and serving to space the'fourth edge ofthe sheetsfrom the bottomof'thewater container so asto promote Water absorption by said sheets.

An eleventh object of the present invention is to providea novel evaporator unit, for a hot air furnace humidifier, having a maximum evaporating surface but presenting a minimum of resistance to air-flow.

other ob jects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and figures of the drawing wherein:

Fig. l is-a perspective view of a portion of a hot air furnace'partly broken away to show the insertion of the humidifier of the present invention therein;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section of the humidifier of the present invention in assembly with a furnacewall. I

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the humidifier of the present invention in assembly with a furnace wall;

Fig. i is an enlarged section taken on the line 3-6 of Fig. 2 serving to illustrate the structure of the evaporator portion of the humidifier.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the evaporator taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation partly in section and partly broken away of the evaporator portion of the humidifier unit;

7 is a transverse vertical section taken substantially on the lines 'i-i of Fig. 3 and illustrating the water storage tank;

Fig. 8 is a detail partly broken away of the water storage tank inlet valve in open position;

Fig. 9 is a detail partly in section illustrating the mounting of the humidifier unit on the furnace wall;

Fig. 10 is an end view partly broken away of the humidifier mounting means of Fig. 9;

a Fig. 11 is a section similar to Fig. 9 but showing the humidifier in the process of removal from the mounting means;

Fig. 12 is a perspective View of the adaptor which permits vertical mounting of the humidifier unit on a slanting plenum chamber wall.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a humidifier mounting means for furnaces provided with vertical walls.

Referring to the figures of the drawings and particularly Figure 1 thereof, a conventional hot air furnace indicated at Id, includes a conventional plenum chamber ll provided with a side wall :2 having the shape of a truncated cone, and a plurality of hot air ducts l3 leading from the chamber.

The humidifier of the present invention includes an evaporator structure indicated in general at i i and a storage tank for supplying water to the structure and extending therefrom indicated, in general, at E5. The humidifier M is mounted on the plenum wall !2 by means of an adaptor l5 including a frame l'i attachable to the wall l2 and a vertical frame H3 at the outer end of the adaptor. The storage tank I5 is supplied with water through a conduit 19 connected to a conventional valve 29 suspended from a water pipe 2|.

Referring to Figure '7 it will be noted that the water tank or storage reservoir is provided with a float 22 having a horizontal link 23 extending from one end thereof and pivoted at as to a second link 25, in turn pivoted at 25 to the wall of the tank 55. The tank [5 is also provided with a cover 2'? having an opening 28 at one end thereof, the opening being directly beneath an outlet 29 of a valve indicated in general at 313. The valve 3b is suspended above the opening 28 by a bracket 3! bolted to the casing wall of the tank 55 as by screw 32. An overflow 33 is also provided for the tank 15 communicating with the tank just below the upper end thereof. The valve 3i? includes a bushing 22:; rigidly secured in any desired manner, as by welding or soldering to the bracket 3!, which permanently fixes the height of the valve outlet. The bushing 3ft extends through the bracket 3i just above the opening 28 of the tank l5. A nipple 35 is fitted into the bushing 3 at its lower end and extends vertically upwardly from the bushin at its upper end. The lower end of the nipple 35 has a frustro conical shape and is provided with a central bore 35. A valve stem 5'! is provided with an enlarged portion 38 at its upper end having an insert 39 of a suitable resilient material such as fiber or synthetic rubber which is adapted to bear against the lower surface of the nipple so as to close the bore 36 when the valve stem is in its uppermost vertical position as shown in Figure '7. The lower end of the valve stem 3'! is provided with a yoke 40 which is pivotally mounted as at 4| about the link 25 intermediate the pivots 24 and 26. Movement of the float 22 then, by a rise in water level, will move the link 23 and the lower end of link 25 upwardly; the link 25 pivoting about pivot as. This will similarly move the valve stemv 3! upwardly to close the valve as shown in Figure '7. When the water level is lowered the movement of the float 22 will lower the valve stem to open the valve as shown in Figure 8, providing a drip action instead of a snap-action.

The valve 39 is also provided with a filter structure including a perforated disk 42 resting on the upper end of the nipple 35. The perforated disk 52 is held in place by a nut 43 which is screw-threadedly assembled with the nipple 35 as by threads 54. The upper end of the nut is provided with a screw-threaded portion 45 for assembly with the inlet conduit 19.

The storage tank communicates with the evaporator portion of the humidifier unit as by a pair of conduits best shown in Fig. 3 and indicated by the reference numerals .6 and 41 connected to the tank !5, adjacent the bottom thereof, by couplings 48 and 49. Each of the conduits 35 and All communicates with an elongated U-shaped trough member best shown in Figure 5 and indicated by the reference numerals '55 and 51 respectively. The troughs are held in spaced relation at one of their ends by the generally vertical plate 52 and at their other end by a bracket 53, the plate 52 and the bracket 53 being provided with screws, such as those indicated at 5 3 and 55 respectively, for this purpose. Brackets 53a are also provided to brace the upper end of the evaporator .unit'(Fig. 3).

With this arrangement it is unnecessary to build an air trap between tank l5 and the troughs 5G, 5!, and any stoppages that may occur in the conduits e5, 4! can readily be cleared by rodding such conduits without removing anything from the humidifier but the cover 21 of the tank 15.

The plate 52 also serves as a means to removably mount the entire humidifier structure upon the furnace wall. As best shown in Figures 9 to 13 inclusive, the plate 52 bears at the lateral edges of its rearward face against a pair of guide members 56 and. 51, formed as inwardly extending flanges on the frame 18, which prevents its rearward movement in the frame I8. The forward movement of the plate 52 is prevented by a pair of lips or upper and lower flanges 58 and 59 or frame l8 which form channels at the upper and lower, edges of the plate 52 for the reception thereof. The weight of the humidifier unit serves to maintain the lower end of the plate 52 in the channel formed by the flange 59. It will be noted that the lip 58 is relatively wide so as to produce a relatively deep channel at the upper end of the plate 52. This permits the upward vertical movement of the plate 52 sliding on the guides 56 and 51 until the lower end of the plate 52 clears the lip 59. The plate 52 can then be tilted forward as shown in Figure 11 and thereafter rocked free of the upper lip 58 so that the evaporator structure can be removed from the plenum chamber II and the entire humidifier removed from the furnace for cleaning without necessitating the removal of any screws or bolts.

The inner end of the evaporator unit I4 is supported from the vertical plate 52 by a'brace '60.

the bracket 53 (Figs. 2 and 3), and at its upper and outer end engaging the front surface of a nut Bl (Figs. '9 and 11) which is mounted on an adjusting bolt E52 extending rearwardly through and journaled in the plate 52.

Inasmuch as most plenum chambers are of a truncated conical shape having sloping walls, the adaptor structure I6 is provided for mounting the plate 52 vertically regardless of the angular disposition of the plenum chamber wall I 2 of the particular furnace in which the humidifier is to be installed. The adaptor structure I 6 includes the frame I! which is secured in any suitable manner, as by means of screws extending through apertures provided in the base flanges thereof, to the plenum wall l2 around a suitable opening provided therein. A generally segmentalshaped hoodmemberBS, Figs. 9 to 12, made integral with or rigidly secured in any desired manner along its outer edge portions to the frame 58, slidably engages suitable outwardly extending fianges formed as projections from the side and top members of the frame 11. The bottom portion of the hood member 63 engages and is supported by the bottom cross member of the frame H.

As best seen in Fig. 12, the hood member 63 and frame l3 are thus supported by the frame I! and are angularly adjustable relative thereto to permit vertical positioning of the frame l8 regardless of the angular position of the frame IT, as

determined by the slope of the particular furnace plenum chamber wall to which the latter may be attached. Suitable means are provided for rigidly securing the hood member 63 to the frame 1 1 in such properly adjusted position, which may comprise set screws 64 extending through the outwardly projecting fianges'of' the frame H. Thus the frames I! and I8 and hood member 63 comprise a rigid adaptor structure for removably supporting the plate 52 so as to mount the humidifier carried by the latter in desired position with the evaporator structure I 4 disposed within the plenum chamber of the furnace.

If it is desired to install the humidifier in a furnace having plenum chamber walls which are vertically disposed, the hood member 63 may be removed from the frame 3, as illustrated in Fig. 13, and the frame 18 mounted directly on the furnace wall in the same manner as, and in lieu of, the previously described mounting of the frame 1 1.

Thus-the entire evaporator unit is supported by or hung on the plate 52, and no other support at the inner or rear end of the humidifier through or from the opposite wall of the plenum chamber is necessary, as is the case in prior devices of this general character. As will readily be apparent, this construction greatly facilitates -removal and mounting of-the humidifier.

As best shown in Figure 5, each of the U-shaped trough-like members 50 and '5! is provided with a plurality of assembled sheets of fibrous material, the member 50 being provided with an assembled sheet structure indicated in general at 65 and the member with a sheet structure indicated in general at 66. The outer sheets are formed of a fibrous material preferably largely consisting of a heat resistant fiber such as glass wool or asbestos. These outer sheets are indicated by the reference numerals 61 and 68.

chamber.

As shown in Figure l, the sheets 61 and 68 are really formed from a single sheet bent'back on itself as at 69 so as to completely enclose the inner sheets 10 and "H also formed of a single sheet bent on itself as at E2. The inner sheets Hi and 'H are preferably formed of a fibrous material having a greater capillary affinity for water than the sheets 67 and 63 but somewhat less fire resistant. Such a fibrous sheet may be formed from cotton fibers, animal fibers, exploded wood fiber or any of the aforementioned materials in suitable admixture with a suitable binder. Such a material is entirely suitable even for positioning within the plenum chamber since the outer sheets which are usually kept saturated with water will "protect the inner sheets and prevent the same up the vertical channels.

As best shown in Figures 5 andfi, the sheets are held together by frame membershaving springlike characteristics, the upper frame members being indicated 'atlt and the'endiframe members The frame members .serveto clamp three of the edges of the sheets leaving the fourth or lower edge free from compression, so that the lower edge of the sheets will tend'to absorb water in the troughs =50 and 5! more readily. Further,

the sheets are all spaced from the bottom 'of'the troughs by an extension of the sideframe members l5. As shown in Fig. 6, the lower edge of the frame members are supported by the bottom of the trough as as at .15 and El. It will be noted that the outer sheets 51 and e 'extend down lower in'th trough than the inner sheet members l0 and H, so thatthe heat of the vertical walls of the troughs 5b and 5i will not be transmitted to the inner fibrous structure. The sheets maybe further held together, intermediate of the frame members M and 15, by a plurality of clips F8.

Referring to Figures 4 and 5, it will be noted that the clamping frame members M and 15 are of a general U-shape in cross section, the legs of the U being bent inwardly both at their extreme free ends, indicated at '59, and at a point intermediate the ends, as indicated at 80. These bent portions are opposed on each leg of the U so as -to form a plurality of clamping jaws for the edges of the sheets 67 and 68.

Since the accumulation of foreign material may cause the formation of barnacles on the evaporator pads 65, E6, the upper ends of the associated trough members 50 and 5| are flanged slightly outwardly, as indicated at 8! in Fig. 5, so as to catch any drippings from such barnacle formations. This arrangement effectively prevents dripping of water onto the radiator of the heating'element or furnace, which would in time result in the burning of holes completely through said heating element.

The particular evaporator pad construction just described is especially suitable for insertion in the plenum chamber of a hot air furnace, inasmuch as they are inserted so that only the edge thereof opposes the flow of air in the plenum It will be understood that any desired number of trough members and individually associated evaporator pads may be employed to make up the humidifier unit [4.

The provision of vertical channels within the evaporator portion assembly insures the feeding of water uniformly to the inner fibrous sheets and the supply thereof to the outer fibrous sheets so that even if the outer sheets become coated with soot or other material, they always remain in a dampened condition during operation. The corrugations also insure a maximum surface of ex posure for the outer sheets.

In general, the evaporator assembly presents a very large water exposure area to the air in the plenum chamber in proportion to the amount of air fiow resistance offered thereby. For example, in the present embodiment of the invention the trough members 50 and are but A in width and spaced laterally at intervals of 1" center to center. Thus two of these troughs 18" long mounted in the plenum chamber of a heating unit present an air retarding or baffling area of only 9 square inches, yet they have sufficient height to provide a heating and water evaporating area of approximately 360 square inches. With such a structure, bafiling of the heated air from the heating unit is minimized in maj or proportions to that produced by humidifiers used in the past. It would require a conventional pan type humidifier 18" long and 20" wide to equal the heating and evaporating area of 360 square inches provided by the present embodiment, and such a pan would almost completely block the average plenum chamber.

The fixed mounting of the water supply valve 30 above the opening 28 in the cover of the storage tank I5, hereinbefore described, functions to prevent back-siphoning of water from the tank IE into the water system, represented by the pipe 2|, under any and all circumstances and including a complete closing of the overflow 33 from the tank l5.

With the present construction, the user of the humidifier also is readily enabled to select a unit having the desired number of humidifying members to correspond exactly to the heating capaci ity of the furnace, without materially blocking the flow of heated air therethrough.

I claim:

1. In combination with a hot air furnace or the like having a side wall with an aperture therein, a humidifier unit including an elongated evaporator portion extending through said aperture into said furnace and exposed to hot air therein, and a Water storage portion extending outwardly of the furnace from the evaporator portion; a vertical plate mounted on said humidifier unit between said water storage portion and said evaporator portion for supporting said humidifier unit, and means to removably mount said plate upon said furnace wall, said means comprising the sole support for said humidifier unit and including a frame having vertical guide means cooperating with one face of said plate, and means disposed below and spaced from the guide means to retain said plate against said guide means, said humidifier unit being liftable to disengage said plate from said last recited retaining means to enable removal of the unit from the furnace.

2. In combination with a hot air furnace or the like having a plenum chamber provided with a slanted side wall, a humidifier unit including an elongated evaporator portion extending into said plenum chamber and exposed to hot air therein, and a water storage portion for said evaporator portion; a vertically extending plate mounted on said humidifier unit between said evaporator portion and storage portion for supporting said humidifier unit, and means to removably mount said plate upon said plenum wall, said means comprising the sole support for said humidifier and including a relatively vertical frame, means mounted on said slanting plenum wall to support said frame in a vertical position, vertical guide means within said frame and bearing against one face of said plate, and means on said frame spaced from the guide means to retain said plate against said guide means.

3. In a support for a humidifier having a vertical plate mounted thereon, a supporting frame, guide means extending from the lateral edges of said frame, a lower lip extending upwardly and outwardly from said frame in spaced relation to said guide means to form a channel, and an upper lip extending downwardly and outwardly from said frame at the upper edge thereof in spaced relation to said guide means to form a second channel, said vertical plate being of a width to span said guide means and a length less than the distance between the bottom of said lower channel and the top of said upper channel, so that said plate will be retained against said guide means by said lower lip with the lower end thereof resting at the bottom of said lower channel and can be removed from said lower channel by lifting the same into said upper channel.

4. In combination with a hot air furnace or the like having a side wall, a humidifier unit including an elongated evaporator portion comprising a plurality of sheets of fibrous material and including inner sheets of material characterized by a relatively great capillary attraction for water and a relatively low resistance to heat impairment and outer sheets characterized by relatively lower capillary attraction for water and by a higher resistance to impairment by heat, a water storage portion for said humidifier unit extending from the evaporator portion and arranged to moisten said sheets of porous material, and means to mount said humidifier unit upon said furnace wall at a point between theevaporator portion and the storage portion.

5. In a humidifier evaporator unit exposed to relatively high temperatures, a plurality of sheets of fibrous material, certain of said sheets being formed from a relatively heat resistant fibrous material and certain other said sheets being formed from fibrous material less heat resistant than the first mentioned sheets, and means to retain said sheets in assembled relation so that the less heat resistant sheets are entirely surrounded and protected from hot air temperatures by the relatively heat resistant sheets.

6-. In a humidifier unit for a hot air furnace or the like having a plenum chamber, an evaporator portion comprising a plurality of elongated sheets of fibrous material, said sheets being assembled into a relatively thin pad with relatively heat resistant fibrous material sheets on the outside of the assembly and relatively water absorbent fibrous material sheets on the inside of the assembly, means for clamping the sheets together at their top and side edges, means to supply water to the lower edge of said sheets, and means to removably suspend said evaporator portion in the plenum chamber of the hot air furnace so that only approximately the lower edges of said sheets of the evaporator portion will reastaoea am er- In a mid fie unit r hot ai rn e o he e, evapor to pq dn c mp sins P rality of elongated fibrous sheets, said sheets being assembled into a relatively. thin pad with at sistant sheets on the utsicle f h ass-c sembly and, relativ ly water abso bent s eet on the inside of the assembly, means for clamping the sheets tog er a heir p. nd si e ed s, and a supporting trough normally containing water surrounding the lower portion of said sheets, said trough being only slightly wider than the thickness of said pad and having fiangesjex tending laterally from its upper edges to, catch any drippings from said pad.

8. In a' humidifier unit for hot air furnace or the like, an evaporator portion comprising ,a plurality. of elongated sheets, said sheets being assembled into a relativelyv thin pad with heat re.- sistant sheets on the outside of the assembly and relatively Water absorbent sheets on the inside of the assembly, means for clamping, thesheets together at their top. and side edges, a supporting trough normally containing watersurro'unding the lower portion. of said sheets, and means to support the sheets in the trough so that the lower edge thereof is spacedv from the bottom of the. trough.

9. In a humidifier unit for a hot air furnace or the like, an evaporator portion comprising a plurality of elongated sheets, said sheets being assembled into a relatively thin pad with relatively heat resistant sheets on the outside of the assembly and relatively water absorbent sheets on theinside of the assembly, a spring member for clamping the top edge of the sheets together, a pair of spring members for clamping the side edges of the sheets together, said last mentioned spring members extending substantially beyond the lower edge of the sheets, anda trough about the lower edges of the sheets, said last mentioned extending spring members serving to support and space th'elower edges of said sheets from the bottom of the tro'ughl' 10. In a humidifier unit for a hot air furnace or thelike, an evaporator portion comprising a plur lity of elongatedsheets, said sheets being asst ed into a relatively thin pad with reia may eat resistant'sheets on the outside ofthe assembly and relatively water absorbent sheets on the insidei ofthe assembly, spring clamping members having a gerieral U-shape for clamp ing the sheets together at their topand side edges, said clamping membersinclu'ding a plurality of opposing clamping jaws, means to supply water to the lower edge of said sheets, said clamping member. supporting said sheets vertically in, and in spaced relation at their lower edges from, said water supply'means', an'dbrackets for bracing said clamping members at the top sides o said, sheets t K ttle th latter in vertical position.

11. Ina humidifier unit for a hot air furnace or the. lilge, an evaporator portion comprising a pluralityfqf elongated sheets disposed in sub I 10 edge of the sheets, and means to supply water to the lower edge of said sheets.

12. In combination with a heating unit having a sloping outer wall, a humidifier unit having an evaporator portion extending horizontally ing outer wall with said evaporator portion disposed horizontally regardless of the particular angular disposition of said wall, said adjustable meanscomprising a frame secured to said sloping I outer wall, a hood member adjustably mounted stantially vertical. planes and provided with transverse corrugations extending vertically thereof, said sheets being assembled in face to face contact with each other with adjacent corrugations in offset relationship so as to form a relatively thin pad having a plurality of vertical water feeding channels therein, means for clamping the sheets together attheir top and side edges so as to leave said channels open at the bottom on said frame for remorably engaging said supporting means, and means for securing said hood member to said frame in desired adjusted position.

13. In a combination with a hot air furnace,

or the like having a side wall with an aperture therein, a humidifier unit including an evaporator portion extending through said aperture into said furnace and exposed to hot air therein, and a water storage portion extending outwardly of the furnace from said evaporator portion; a vertical plate mounted on said humidifier unit outwardly of the center of gravity thereof between said Water storage portion and said evaporator portion for supporting said humidifier unit, brace means inter-connecting said plate and the inner end of said evaporator portion, and means to removably mount said plate upon said furnace wall, said last means comprising the sole support for said humidifier unit and including a frame having vertical guide means cooperating with the inner face of said plate and an upwardly facing horizontal channel disposed below and spaced outwardly from the guide means to retain said plate against said guide means, said humidifier unit being liftable todisengage said plate from said channel to enable removal of the unit from the furnace.

14. In combination with a heating unit having a side wall with an aperture therein, a humidifier unit having an evaporator portion extending through said aperture into said heating unit and exposed to hot air therein, and a water storage portion for said evaporator portion extending from the latter and disposed exteriorly of said heating unit, humidifier unit supporting means mounted on said heating unit side wall, mounting means disposed between said evaporator portion and said storage portion and alone cooperating with said last recited means, without the aid of any additional securing means, to retain said humidifier unit in desired position on said side wall while enabling ready removal of the humidifier unit therefrom without necessitating the removal of any securing means, said mounting means comprising a vertical member attached to the humidifier unit, and said supporting means including a frame surrounding said aperture and having an upwardly facing horizontal channel to receive and retain said member, said member being liftable out of said channel to remove the humidifier unit from the heating unit.

15. In combination with a heating unit having a sloping outer wall with an aperture therein, a hi ifie unit having n evaporator r i n ener ies hor l ent iythreesh Sa d new o said heating unit, and a water storage portion for said evaporator portion extending horizontally from the latter and disposed exteriorly of said heating unit, a vertical plate mounted on said humidifier unit between said evaporator portion and said storage portion for supporting said humidifier unit, and means to removably mount said plate upon said outer wall, said means comprising the sole support for said humidifier unit and including a vertical frame, vertical guide means within said frame and bearing against one face of said plate, means on said frame spaced from said guide means to retain said plate against the latter, means mounted on said sloping outer wall for adjustably supporting said frame in vertical position, and means for securing said frame to said last means in a vertical position.

16. In a humidifier unit removably mounted upon a heating unit and comprising an evaporator portion extending into said heating unit, a water storage tank disposed exteriorly of said heating unit, and a supply pipe interconnecting said storage tank and said evaporator portion; a removable cover for said storage tank having an aperture therein, a bracket secured to said storage tank and extending upwardly through said aperture, a valve secured to said bracket and having an outlet positioned above said aperture, a valve closure member cooperating with said valve outlet at its upper end and having a stern extending downwardly into said storage tank at its other end, and a float disposed within said storage tank above the outlet point of connection of said supply pipe thereto to provide free access to said pipe outlet from the top of the tank, said float being responsive to the level of water in said storage tank and connected to said stem to operate said valve closure member, whereb said pipe may be cleaned by rodding from the exterior of the heating unit, without removal of the humidifier unit therefrom, merely by removal of said cover from said storage tank.

17. In combination with a hot air furnace or the like having a side wall with an aperture therein, a humidifier unit including an elongated evaporator portion extending through said aperture into said furnace and exposed to an upward flow of hot air therein, and a water storage portion extending outwardly of the furnace from the evaporator portion, and means to removably mount said humidifier unit upon said furnace wall at a point between said evaporator portion and said storage portion, said evaporator portion comprising a plurality of narrow elongated troughs spaced laterally from each other to permit uninterrupted upward flow of hot air therebetween, individual supply pipes interconnecting each of said troughs and said water storage portion, and a plurality of sheets of fibrous material assembled as a thin evaporator pad mounted vertically in each of said troughs, each said pad being supplied with water at the lower edge by its associated trough and being disposed within the confines of the vertical extension of the periphery of 5 and an inner layer between said outer layers of which the fibers are characterized by their relatively great capillary attraction for water, said outer layers having marginal portions along their upper and end edges projecting outwardly beyond the corresponding edges of the inner layer, and a metal frame structure comprising parts extending along said marginal edge portions of the outer layers and attached thereto for holdin them in assembly, the lower ends of said frame structure parts at the ends of said layers projecting below the lower edges of said layers.

19. In combination with a heating unit having a side Wall with an aperture therein, a humidifier unit having an evaporator portion extending through said aperture into said heating unit and exposed to upward fiow of hot air therein, and a water storage portion for said evaporator portion disposed exteriorly of said heating unit, humidifier unit supportin means mounted on said heating unit side wall, and mounting means disposed between said evaporator portion and said storage portion and alone cooperating with said supporting means to removably retain said humidifier unit in desired position on said side wall, said mounting means comprising a vertical plate, and said evaporator portion comprising a plurality of, relatively thin and longitudinally extending sections spaced transversely of each other to afford minimum obstruction to the upward flow of hot air in said heating unit and each separately secured to said vertical plate, and separate water supply means interconnecting each of said sections and said storage portion and passing through said vertical plate to provide additional points of connection of said plate to the humidifier unit to insure proper alignment of said vertical plate thereon.

20. In a humidifier unit for hot air furnaces, or the like, an evaporator portion comprising a plurality of elongated fibrous sheets, said sheets being assembled to form a relatively thin pad having heat resistant fibrous sheets on the outside and relatively water absorbent fibrous sheets on the inside of the assembly, means for securing said sheets together, a pad-supporting trough normally containing water surrounding the lower portion of said pad, said trough being only slightly wider than the thickness of said pad and having flanges extending laterally from its upper edges to catch any drippings from said pad, and spacer means interposed between said pad and said trough to prevent corrosion which otherwise would result from contact between said pad and the adjacent sides of said trough.

WILLIAM J. WOOLLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 759,318 Sayre May 10, 1904 1,458,549 Sallada June 12, 1923 1,692,816 Chamberlin Nov. 27, 1928 1,720,241 Sallada July 9, 1929 1,790,993 Matteson Feb. 3, 1931 1,817,357 Fisher Aug. 4, 1931 2,049,731 Betts Aug. 4, 1936 2,155,070 Woolley Apr. 18, 1939 2,187,778 Gardner Jan. 23, 1940 2,366,906 Hester Jan. 9, 1945 

